Capital City, outside the main gate of the Imperial Palace.
A Spatial Rift silently tore open.
Lin Changqing and Xiao Qianjun stepped out of the rift, landing on the bluestone plaza outside the palace gate.
The Royal Forest Guard soldiers on duty stared blankly at the newcomers, then dropped to one knee in perfect unison.
"Greetings, Prince Wu'an! Greetings, Chief Commander Xiao!"
The Feathered Forest Officer in the lead asked respectfully,
"Are Your Lordships here to see His Majesty? This subordinate will send someone in to inform him at once!"
Lin Changqing gave a slight nod.
The Feathered Forest Officer hurriedly turned and ran toward the Imperial Study himself.
Xiao Qianjun stood beside Lin Changqing, his expression still grave.
He clutched the Storage Ring tightly in his hand. Inside were piles of evidence pointing to the Crown Prince.
Before long, the Feathered Forest Officer came running back.
"His Majesty invites Your Lordships inside for an audience!"
Lin Changqing and Xiao Qianjun passed through the palace gate and headed for the Imperial Study.
Inside the Imperial Study.
Su Gan sat behind the Dragon Desk, holding a battle report that had just arrived from Yan Province.
When he saw Lin Changqing and Xiao Qianjun enter, he set the report down.
A delighted smile spread across his face.
"You two couldn't have come at a better time! I just read the battle report from Yan Province."
"Most of the Demon Cult's strongholds in Yan Province have already been wiped out, and good news has been pouring in from Green Province and Xu Province as well."
He stood and walked over to Lin Changqing.
"The campaign has gone so smoothly thanks to Prince Wu'an."
"If you hadn't personally intervened, how could the Demon Cult's strongholds in Si Province have been eradicated so quickly?"
He smiled again, his voice full of feeling.
"And those guards of yours, Prince Wu'an. I'd thought they were ordinary followers."
"I never imagined every one of them would be a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint!"
"Your Azure Dragon Guard Lin Long is stationed in Yu Province, your White Tiger Guard Lin Hu in Xu Province, your Vermilion Bird Guard Lin Que in Yan Province, and your Black Tortoise Guard Lin Wu in Green Province."
"With four Ninth-Rank Martial Saints each guarding a province, the Demon Cult's strongholds had nowhere to hide."
"Even the local officials in each province benefited. How often do they get to see a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint take action in person?"
"Prince Wu'an, you've rendered tremendous service to my Great Yu!"
Xiao Qianjun stood to one side, his expression still grave.
He wanted to bring up the matter at hand, but His Majesty was in such high spirits that he couldn't bring himself to interrupt.
All he could do was silently tighten his grip on the Storage Ring.
Su Gan turned around and picked up a memorial from the Dragon Desk.
"And then there's Xu Province Governor Sun Tai. I never imagined that even the chief official of a province would be bought off by the Demon Cult."
"Thanks to your White Tiger Guard Lin Hu, he was not only captured on the spot, but also forced to reveal a great deal of useful intelligence."
"That saved us a lot of effort in the campaign to clear out Xu Province."
"Prince Wu'an, each of the four Martial Saints under your command is a rare military talent."
"I'm almost jealous of you."
The more Su Gan spoke, the happier he became, and the more approvingly he looked at Lin Changqing.
Prince Wu'an was practically a lucky star sent to the Great Yu Dynasty.
Not only was his own strength unfathomable, but he also had four Ninth-Rank Martial Saints and a Pureblood Qilin at his side.
With such power, the Great Yu Dynasty's standing among the various dynasties would surely rise.
And Prince Wu'an's relationship with his daughter was growing ever closer. It was as if Heaven had sent the Great Yu Dynasty a son-in-law worthy of a dragon!
Lin Changqing finally raised a hand, interrupting Su Gan.
"Your Majesty, Chief Xiao and I have returned to the Capital City to report something more important."
The smile on Su Gan's face faded slightly.
He looked at Lin Changqing, then at Xiao Qianjun, who stood beside him with a grave expression.
Only then did he notice that Xiao Qianjun hadn't said a word since entering, and was clutching a Storage Ring tightly in his hand.
Su Gan's expression turned solemn as well.
"What matter could bring you both back to the Capital City?"
He sat down on the dragon throne and looked from one man to the other.
"Speak. I'm listening."
Lin Changqing wasted no time. He took the Storage Ring from Xiao Qianjun.
He placed its contents on the Dragon Desk one by one.
Three Secret Letters, a ledger, an Entry Record, and a scorched Brocade Box.
"Your Majesty, while Chief Xiao and I were clearing out a Demon Cult stronghold in Yong Province, we seized a cache of confidential documents."
"The codename 'Ming Yuan' appears repeatedly throughout them."
He picked up one of the Secret Letters and pointed to a few lines on it.
"This 'Ming Yuan' provided the Holy Demon God Sect with extensive assistance in the Capital City."
"This included forging identity documents, leaking the Demon Suppressing Division's operations, and providing maps of the Capital City's defenses."
"And these two million mid-grade Spirit Crystals were all secretly transported into the Capital City in carriages belonging to the Eastern Palace."
He picked up the Entry Record and the scorched Brocade Box.
"This is the Entry Record and the testimony of the gate guards. The evidence is conclusive. And this Brocade Box bears the Eastern Palace's Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Wax Seal."
"All the evidence points to one person—"
Lin Changqing paused, then calmly uttered the final words.
"The current Crown Prince, Su Mingyuan."
Xiao Qianjun spoke as well, his voice low.
"Your Majesty, Prince Wu'an and I have thoroughly reexamined this evidence. There is no possibility that it's been fabricated."
"Please review it, Your Majesty."
He placed the Storage Ring on the Dragon Desk.
Su Gan said nothing.
He picked up the three Secret Letters and opened them one by one.
Then he picked up the ledger and turned to the page recording the two million Spirit Crystals.
Finally, he picked up the scorched Brocade Box and turned it over.
When he saw the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Wax Seal, his fingers clenched around it.
His expression shifted from solemn to shocked, from shocked to incredulous, and from incredulous to livid.
He raised his head sharply, his voice trembling.
"My son... has also colluded with the Holy Demon God Sect?!"
Xiao Qianjun lowered his head even further, not daring to respond.
Lin Changqing said nothing either, only lowering his gaze slightly.
There was nothing appropriate for an outsider to say about something like this.
The air in the Imperial Study seemed to freeze, the pressure so heavy it was hard to breathe.
Su Gan's hands trembled as he held the Secret Letters.
After a long while,
he slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened them again, the shock and anguish were gone.
In their place was a bone-cold murderous intent.
Lin Changqing glanced at Xiao Qianjun, and the two exchanged a look.
He stepped forward and cupped his hands toward Su Gan.
"Your Majesty, the Demon Cult's branch in Yong Province hasn't been completely eradicated yet. Chief Xiao and I will take our leave."
Su Gan said nothing, only giving a slight nod.
Lin Changqing raised a hand and tore open the space before him, then stepped into the rift with Xiao Qianjun.
The two of them left the Imperial Study just like that.
At a time like this, it wasn't appropriate for ministers from outside the palace to remain.
Only Su Gan remained in the Imperial Study.
He sat on the dragon throne, looking down at the evidence scattered across the Dragon Desk.
Every word in those Secret Letters pierced his heart like a knife.
He had lived for so many years and spent most of his life as emperor. He had weathered countless storms.
But he had never imagined that his own son, the heir he had personally appointed,
would collude with the Holy Demon God Sect, betray the court, and betray the Human Race!
He had poured his heart and soul into the Great Yu Dynasty, and spared no effort in defending against demons.
The soldiers at the front lines were using their flesh and blood to hold back the demon armies, while the people of every province and commandery gritted their teeth and shouldered the burden of war!
But his son... the Crown Prince in whom he had placed such high hopes... the future emperor of Great Yu... had secretly been feeding the Demon Cult intelligence and acting as an inside man for the demons!
How was he supposed to accept this? How could he answer to the court officials? How could he answer to the soldiers fighting and bleeding on the front lines?!
Before you continue